Rise of the Flame
by wolfe13
Summary: Chris Sparks knows how she came to be immortal. She knows why she can control fire. What Chris doesn't know is how the Moon and the Guardians expect her to beat the one thing the determination can't always beat: The Spirit of Doubt. Now, with the help of the Guardians, Chris must find what it truly means to be determined. Jack/OC, though not main story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! If you don't know, I'm wolfe13. I don't have much to say before I start the story other than this:**

**I _loved _this movie. I went with my little sister and loved it. It was really good and left a lot of room for FanFiction. So this story idea came to me not long after I saw Rise of the Guardians a second time.**

**Next, this story is a Jack/OC but as always, I'm going to try to not make that the main theme of the story. Bare that in mind, please!**

**Obvisouly, I don't own Rise of the Guardians blah blah blah. You all know the drill. I'm not going to waste time on long legal stuff.**

**Fourth (maybe thrid) I'll try to throw some humor in the story, but some of it may be a little adult, so read with caution. Pay attention to the story rating. All that stuff.**

**If anything more comes up, I'll let you all know in future chapters. Adios!**

* * *

_September 2nd, 1666. 1:03 am. Sancherster Apartments, London_

To Chris, the oppressive heat was the worst of it. Worse than the choking smoke, worse than the rough bits of the crumbling building she was breathing in every second. The heat… she'd never forget it. It sucked away Chris' energy and burned her body.

The fear was awful too. Not just the fear Chris felt towards her own death, but the fear for the life of her eight-year-old sister who was clinging to her arm. Little Arianna, whose bright orange curls were the exact opposite of Chris' straight chocolate brown hair, was crying silently as she followed her 15-year-old sister. The two girls were trapped in the burning apartment they'd called home all their lives. Chris was trying desperately to lead them out by memory, but she was exhausted, confused, and oxygen deprived.

"We're almost there Arianna. Almost there. I promise," Chris chanted as the pair stumbled through the maze of halls. "We're almost to the stairs, I just know it. Then all we'll have to do is go down the stairs. We're going to get out of here."

"No we aren't!" Arianna wailed suddenly. The little red-head yanked her hands out of Chris' and hugged herself. "We're going to die in here," Arianna cried. Chris stood, stunned, for a moment before kneeling in front of Arianna.

"I swear to you, Arianna," Chris said seriously, taking Arianna's hands, "I will get you out of here. You will not die in this apartment. But you have to be determined. Remember what I told you about determination?" Arianna nodded slowly.

"If… If you're determined to fight a battle…" Arianna whispered.

"… You'll never fight alone," Chris finished. "And it's true. As long as you fight for something, others will fight along with you. Right now, we're a team, right? So as long as I'm with you, we can't lose."

"… O-ok. Let's go!" Arianna agreed with a grin. Chris smiled at her sister. Retaking Arianna's hand, the sisters continued their search through the corridors.

Turning a corner, Chris recognized the large ornate doorway marking the stairs. The large oak door that usually stood was gone, nowhere to be seen. But Chris knew it was the stairs.

"There, Arianna! We made it!" Chris cheered as she took off with Arianna in toe.

**_Crack!_**

A good sized hunk of wood came crashing to the ground. Chris, reacting instantly, yanked Arianna and herself to the side. The beam crashed downwards, whacking Chris on the shoulder. She staggered as her vision blurred and memories she had been blocking overtook her consciousness.

* * *

_September 1st, 1666. 4:21 pm. Sancherster Apartments, London_

_"I win again!" Chris cheered as she placed her final card on the table. Amelia Palo leaned back and sighed._

_"Yes, I suppose you did, Christina," Amelia agreed. Chris rolled her eyes._

_"Mother, _please _stop calling me Christina. You know I prefer Chris," Chris complained._

_"Your father and I named you Christina, and that's what I'll call you. End of discussion," Amelia said in a tone that left no room for argument. Chris scowled as she recollected all the cards that had been scattered across the table. Chris shuffled them quickly with expertise before dealing them between her and her mother. _

_"Momma, when are we going to eat dinner?" called a quiet voice from the small couch next to the table. Amelia looked over and gave Arianna a gentle smile._

_"Soon, Ari. Daddy promised to bring home more food. We just have to wait."_

_"You call Arianna 'Ari'," grumbled Chris quietly. Amelia looked sharply at her eldest child._

_"Ari is a little girl. You'll be of age soon. You always complain that we treat you like a child, but it's because you act like one! Always whining about your chores. You are a young lady, Christina. Get used to it," Amelia reprimanded. Chris glared down at the cards in her hand. Silence followed as Amelia and Chris began their fifth game of cribbage. Little Arianna watched her family for a bit, then decided to go back to playing with her teddy bear._

_"I convinced the Thrandals to let you watch their sons again tomorrow," Amelia said after a long silence. Chris stiffened at the name and her hand froze midair._

_"You… You what?" Chris gaped at her mother in disbelief. "Why… Why would you do such a thing, Mother?!" Chris cried in horror. Amelia fixed her daughter with an icy stare._

_"We need the money Christina, whether you like it or not. Ever since your father broke his leg at work and needed to go to the clinic our family has been very poor. You know that. Your babysitting and my fabric stand are the only income right now," Amelia said quietly. "Besides, Ms. Thrandal says Michael and Horace love when you babysit."_

_"Yes, because they get to terrorize me," griped Chris. Amelia smiled ever so slightly._

_"_And _because you're good with kids," Amelia told her daughter. "You'll be a great mother to your children."_

_"Children? I'm not thinking of having children anytime soon!" protested Chris. Amelia's smile disappeared and the icy stare returned._

_"You'll be married soon, Christina. And your husband will expect you to willingly produce children and then raise them."_

_"I don't want to marry! I don't want to be some 70-year-old man's toy he can throw on his bed and have his fun with every night!" Chris snapped. Amelia's eyes widened._

_"Ladies don't talk that way, Christina! You'll be married soon and that's that. Besides, it won't be 'some seventy-year-old man. He'll most likely only be 1o years older than you. Like the age difference between your father and I." Chris remained silent and the room was quiet again. Arianna had watched the exchange with curios eyes. Now, once again, she returned to her teddy bear. _

_"I'm home!" called a loud cheerful voice from the front door. The three girls turned to see Hank Palo enter the room with a huge grin on his face. "And I bring joyful news!"_

_"Daddy!" squealed Arianna. The little girl jumped up and ran at her father. The man caught her in a hug and laughed._

_"Hey there Matches!" Hank said as he ruffled the fire red hair that had inspired the nickname._

_"What kind of 'joyful news'?" inquired Amelia as she rose to greet her husband. Hank smiled at her brightly._

_"I won the lawsuit!" Hank told her. Amelia and Chris' eyes widened._

_"You did? The court sided with you and not the business?" Amelia gasped. Hank nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a simple sheet of paper with writing on it. _

_"You bet they did! Apparently this wasn't the first time someone had gotten hurt because of the cheap safety precautions. The court must have finally had enough of it. Now all I have to do is give this paper to the bank tomorrow and we'll never have money problems again." Amelia shook her head in disbelief, smiling._

_"Well we better put that somewhere safe than," Amelia told her husband. She took the paper and placed it in a metal box on the dresser. While she did this, Hank turned to his elder daughter._

_"Hey there Chrissy! How was your day?" he asked._

_"Ok, I guess. I have to babysit for the Thrandals tomorrow," the older daughter sighed. Hank made a face._

_"Those crazy kids again?" Hank asked. _

_"Hank! Don't call people crazy just because you don't like them," chided Amelia from the other side of the room. Hank shrugged sheepishly._

_"Yes dear," he called before looking back at Chris and mouthing 'They're totally crazy'. Chris stifled a giggle. Hank winked before turning once more to his wife. "So now that we're all good and rich, I bought us tickets for the show tonight."_

_"Tarmineus and Makala?" gasped Amelia. "That show goes until 2 am at least!"_

_"So? The kids will be alright. We have to leave in two hours if we're going to go though."_

_"… Alright. But just this once."_

* * *

September 2nd, 1666. 1:06 am, Sancherster Apartments.

"Chris!" The desperate wail shocked Chris from her memories. Chris gasped and coughed widely, her shoulder aching.

"The box!" Chris chocked out. Arianna stared at her in confusion.

"The what?"

"The box Arianna! The box with the money dad got from the lawsuit! It's still in the apartment!" Chris told Arianna, her body filled with horror.

"So?!" Arianna demanded.

"Without that money, our family will die of starvation! I need to go back!" Chris told Arianna. The little red head stared at her older sister in disbelief. Chris put her hands on Arianna's shoulders. "Arianna I need to go back. Take the stairs and get out of here," Chris instructed.

"No! You can't leave me! You promised we'd do this together!" cried Arianna, tears leaking from her eyes.

"I know," Chris whispered. "But this is _really _important. I can't let you come with me though. You need to keep moving. Whatever happens, _keep moving_." Arianna stood there, crying. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Promise me you'll catch up with me."

"Arianna I-"

"Promise!" Arianna wailed. Chris sighed, but nodded.

"Ok. I promise I'll try and catch up with you. Now go!" Chris said as she shoved Arianna towards the stairs. The little girl ran towards them, glancing back at her sister when she reached the doorway. But all Arianna saw was the back of Chris as she ran back to their family apartment.

Chris retraced her path back to the apartment as fast as she could. It was a little easier without having to drag Arianna behind her, but it also made the solo run through the burning building lonely and terrifying. But that didn't stop her. Fear never stopped Chris. It wasn't so much that Chris didn't feel fear, it was she refused to let it stop her.

Finally, Chris found herself staring at the door to Apartment R35. She stared at the door as she tried to catch her breath in an area with little to none oxygen and lots of smoke. After a couple of seconds, Chris reached for the door handle without thinking. Hot, searing pain shot from her hand. With a pain-filled yelp, Chris wrenched her hand from the metal door knob. The brass was scorching. Chris could already feel the flesh of her burned hand blistering. Pressing her wounded hand to her shirt, Chris shouldered the door open. The weakened wood gave way and Chris was in.

The living room of the apartment looked almost the same as when Chris and Arianna had left it, other than the fact the furniture was almost black with soot and the ground was covered in ash and dust. Chris staggered towards the metal box that sat on the dresser where Amelia Palo had left it hours ago. Chris gingerly unclasped the hook of the box, wincing again as her other hand came in contact with the scorching metal. The lid popped open and Chris grabbed the surprisingly well kept paper. She looked it over quickly to check the state of it before stuffing it in her pocket. Chris whirled around to exit the room when her eyes landed on a depressing sight.

The simple teddy bear Arianna had loved all her life sat, abandoned, on the couch. The seemingly worthless toy had always given Arianna comfort and strength. Chris stared at the slightly charred bear before grabbing it with her good hand and running out of the room.

Chris knew the pathway back to the stairs pretty well be them seeing as she had done three times now. Her feet led her through the ever increasingly hot maze of hallways without mistake or stagger. For the first time since Chris had woken up in a smoke filled room half an hour before, Chris felt hopeful. She had the money, Arianna's teddy bear, she knew how to get to the stairs, and Arianna herself was no doubt almost out of the apartment building by now. But Chris should have known to expect disaster to strike. And it struck with a vengeance.

Chris sprinted the final turn that she knew led to the stairs. She was exhausted and hadn't taken a real breath of oxygen in god knows how long, but she'd made it. The stairs would lead her straight to the bottom of the building. Straight to freedom and fresh cold air to soothe her blistered hands. She turned the corner and took two steps before smashing head on into something.

"Oof!" Chris grunted as she reeled backwards. Chris blinked at the object she'd hit and her heart fell into her stomach.

"Ow…" Arianna whimpered as she rubbed her head.

"Arianna?" Chris whispered, stunned. Then, with more force and anger, "Arianna what the hell are you doing here?!" The red head winced at her sister's voice.

"I-I got scared! I didn't want to go alone! So… I came back to find you…"

"Arianna, are you insane? I told you to save yourself!" Chris snarled. Arianna didn't respond, just stared at her feet. Chris shook her head and groaned. "Whatever, we need to get moving." Grabbing Arianna's hand with her good one, Chris ran full speed to the stairs.

The decent was fast enough, even though most of the stairs were loose. Chris dragged her sister down floor after floor, thinking of nothing but 'Keep moving, have to keep moving'. Arianna stumbled and gasped behind Chris, but Chris pulled her along without stop. There wasn't time to be gentle anymore.

The sisters reached the third floor of the building when the stairs stopped. Chris cursed. How could she have forgotten? The main staircase only led down this far, and they had to get to a different stairway to the actual exit. Hesitating for only a second, Chris dragged Arianna out of the stairway and into the halls of the third floor. Through room after room the sisters ran.

Finally, they came upon the final stair case. They were spiral stairs made of oak wood. While the bottom floors seemed to be even more damaged and unstable, these stairs seemed in better shape than the last ones. The sisters took one step towards them…

**CRACK!**

Without thinking, Chris shoved herself and Arianna forwards out of the way of the crashing building. Arianna stumbled to safety, but Chris' foot caught on a beam lying on the floor. Exhausted and weak, the brunette had no strength to catch herself. Chris hit the ground on her back, winded. Seconds later, half the entire floor above them crashed on top of her legs.

Chris expected pain, and somewhere in the back of her head, she felt it. Felt the agony has her legs were smashed under the weight of the rubble. But the majority of her mind was too far gone to register the pain.

"CHRIS!" screamed Arianna as the little girl limped to her sister's broken form. Chris' eyes were open, alive but unseeing.

"A… Ari… T…take the paper… get… get out." Chris' voice was distant. Her burned hand rose, shaking violently, and gripped the paper. With the last of her strength, she placed the paper in Arianna's plam.

"No no no… I won't leave you! You said we'd get out together!"

"Go…" whispered Chris. Arianna stared down at the paper, then nodded.

"Goodbye… Chris," Arianna whispered. The red head stood and forced herself to sprint to the exit, tears pouring from her eyes. Chris distantly listened to her sister leave when a thought managed to form in her head, 'the bear… I didn't give it to Arianna'. Chris could feel the soft bear pressing against her. 'Sorry Arianna…' Chris thought as laid there, staring upwards. The crash that had trapped her had opened a hole in the ceiling. Chris could see almost nothing but one thing: the moon. The moon shined down on her, giving her something beautiful to look at. The moon… Chris had never noticed how amazing it was. Suddenly, a voice penetrated into her mind.

_'You have done well, my dear. You deserve your reward.' _Sudden warmth shot through Chris. Not burning like the heat around her, but comforting and homely. Strength coursed through her as her mortal body transformed. The broken bones fixed themselves, the cuts healed. Chris felt heat flow through her hair, changing the simple brown to fire red.

_'You will represent me, Chris. I give you immortality in exchange for your heroism. I give to you powers unlike any other, use them in my name,' _the moon whispered to Chris. Chris felt herself fading from the world, her human body disappearing from the vision of most mortals. The last thing she heard was, _'You are now and forever Chris Sparks, bringer of determination.' _Then Chris knew nothing.

* * *

**Comment, follow, whatever you like. More to come!**

**~wolfe13**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there readers. I'm still wolfe13, and I still don't own Rise of the Guardians! But you can believe me; if I did a sequel would already be out!**

**Really quick I'd like to thank those who commented/followed/favorite the story. It meant so much to me! I love looking at my emails and seeing all the notifications. So thanks so much! **

**There will be swearing in this chapter, so be warned. Nothing to bad, just hell and bitch, but just be aware.**

**Also, if you like my story, check out TotallyLosingIt's story, Little Rebel. It's super good. If you like it enough to leave a comment, tell them wolfe13 sent you! Haha just kidding. You don't have to. But seriously, look at Little Rebel. That isn't optional.**

**That's all I really have to say here... So, with no more to say, on with the story!**

* * *

_December 17th, 2012. 5:32 pm. Mount Everest Peak, Nepal._

Jack wasn't sure why he'd never come up with this idea in his long immortal life. It was one of the best ideas he'd ever had. The freezing wind wiped his hair, not that the cold bothered him. He was the freaking definition ofcold. Jack Frost didn't feel cold, not even when he was sledding, on a piece of ice, down Mt. Everest. Jack had found other great places to go sledding (Arctic, North Pole, Alaska, off different President noses at Mount Rushmore during winter) but sledding down Everest took the prize.

Yes, that's what Jack did when he was bored nowadays. Ever since he joined the Guardians, he found an inner strength and bravery that gave him the boldness to see just how far his new strength could take him. It wasn't so much he wanted to know how strong he was to be cocky about it; it was because (while he'd never say it out loud) he wanted to know how well he could protect his new family. Jack had to be able to protect them, and finding new abilities he may have gained would be useful. Though, Jack had yet to come up for a reason to justify sledding down Everest. There really wasn't any way to gain abilities from sledding down the tallest mountain on Earth but that didn't stop Jack from _trying _to come up with a use for it. Because how cool would it be if Jack could brag about what he'd learned from sledding down the largest mountain on Earth?

With a cheer, the sled flew off one of the many cliffs. Jack could get used to this time of peace.

* * *

_December 17th, 2012. 6:02 pm. The Warren, Underground_

Bunny lounged atop one of the large stone eggs of the Warren, relaxing. Despite how long it took to pull off Easter, Bunny often started working on the next years Easter (planning out good hiding spots, looking for areas with lots of kids) around July. Bunny would work until December, which he would then take a break. Mostly it was because he hated the cold and had no interest in going outside the Warren.

There was another reason for Bunny's break this year: he'd been very busy as of late with Guardian business. North had all the Guardians going out on small missions to check on all the other evil spirits of the world. After the whole Pitch fiasco, North had decided to make sure no one else choose to attack the world. Bunny had just returned from visiting where the spirit of Lust was held captive. He'd checked the security and locks three times before satisfied all was well.

With a content sigh, Bunny stretched and rolled over onto his side, basking in the fake sunlight that lit the Warren. Bunny could get used to this time of peace.

_December 17th, 2012. 6:57 pm. Tooth Palace_

Tooth watched, satisfied, as her helpers shot around the palace. They were finally back on schedule after the setbacks caused by Pitch. Tooth still spent much of her time at the palace despite her love of going out and gathering teeth herself. Collecting fallen teeth from every kid on Earth was a job that needed someone almost always giving orders.

Luckily, Tooth had been able to go out in the field more often now that Jack was a Guardian. Jobs that every Guardian had to perform were now split between five people instead of four. While it didn't seem like it should make a difference, having another person around really made gave Tooth more time to catch up on work, which gave her more free time. Free time she could use anyway she wanted; personally collecting teeth, watching over the repairs being made for the palace (which were still not yet completed after all the damage Pitch had caused), and just relaxing.

Tooth gave out twenty more orders to her helpers without having to rush them out like usual. Tooth could get used to this time of peace.

* * *

_December 17th, 2012. 7:43 pm. Santa's Workshop, North Pole. _

North paraded through the workshop, bellowing orders left and right. Everywhere yetis were bustling around carrying toys and cans of paint. Christmas was almost upon them and all final adjustments and repairs had to be completed. December 15th-24th was always the busiest time of the year at the North Pole. But, North was grateful for being busy only with toys, not busy with saving the world. So, busy was good. Busy meant things were back to normal.

Since Pitch's banishment, North had split his time between preparing for Christmas and making sure every evil spirit (even the simple spirit of Grumpiness) were kept in line and out of trouble. North looked through every record, checking to make sure there was not a single evil entity out there that'd gone unnoticed. So far, North hadn't hit any snags in the Guardians check of all things evil, but doubt lurked in his mind. North felt as though he'd forgotten something important that had nothing to do with brining Christmastime cheer. Even though the doubt was small, the thought of overlooking something vital unnerved North.

But without the extra burden of fighting Pitch, North managed to keep everything in order so Christmas could come on time and without problem. North could get used to this time of peace.

* * *

_December 17th,2012. 9:39 pm. Miami, Florida._

Sandman sat upon his cloud sand and watched as the majestic tendrils floated off into the distance, veins of gold flowing through black earth. His mind was working endlessly, sorting through the minds of all the sleeping children and customizing their dreams. His hands were always crafting fish, ponies, flowers, rainbows, and once he'd even crafted a giant floating snowball (What? The kid liked snowballs). For the most part, Sandman felt pretty unaffected by the whole "Pitch event". While it seemed like he'd be the most upset (seeing as he'd been kind of destroyed), Sandman was the kind of guy that wasn't too easily scarred. He didn't deny it'd happened or block it from his mind; he just didn't let it bother him.

Despite his indifference over the events in April, North had given the least missions to Sandman. Sandy wasn't offended by this. Why should he? For one thing, Sandman knew his fellow Guardians were just trying to take of him. Also, he knew his job of keeping the world's children safe and believing needed his present constantly. Unlike Tooth, he was the only one around to the job. But Sandman liked working on his own, liked getting to see all the hopes of the kids, and liked easing their minds of the fears. It brought Sandy a joy like nothing else.

With his usual delicacy, Sandman crafted a beautiful tropical fish for a young boy who had gone snorkeling at a coral reef for the first time that day. Sandman could get used to this time of peace.

* * *

_December 18th, 2012. 11:48 am. Bogen High School, Chicago Illinois._

As she walked down the empty locker-lined hallways, Chris contemplated the fact that she had never known anything other than peace. Throughout her long life, nothing extraordinary had happened… At least compared to the events that had causes her immortality. But, to be honest Chris preferred it that way. Contrast to common Spirit traditions, she was not a part of any group of society. Most Spirits with common goals banded together to help (or ruin) the world more effectively. For example, the Spirit of Love, Spirit of Marriage, and Spirit of Birth worked together to create happy families. Chris had been invited to join a large amount of organizations, but she'd turned them all down. Chris had never felt those groups were a good idea for her. Chris was better off alone. Better off hiding from those she could end up hurting.

Chris had gotten better at accepting the fact that no mortal could see her. At first Chris had been sure it would drive her insane. But as year after year past she learned to accept it. Chris had gotten past instinctively waving to people or trying to talk to them.

Chris allowed her feet to lead her to her destination. She was never really sure where she was going when she sensed someone needed her: she just knew it. Being the Spirit of Determination, Chris was often drawn to children who were scared and needed strength. Today was no exception, Chris found as she wandered into a classroom.

There was nothing extraordinary about the room; about 25 children sat at metal desks, a middle-aged teacher sat in the corner, and one student stood in front of the class with a paper in their hands.

"-and that's how the Civil War ended," the middle school student in the front spoke as Chris walked in. The class watching clapped politely and the speaker sat down, looking relieved. 'Presentation day,' Chris thought. Children having to speak in front of their peers was one of the most common reasons Chris was summoned. Every student who had to go soon were so filled with self doubt and anxiety, Chris could feel it miles away.

"Michael Hansen, you're next," the teacher called from where she sat. A short, lanky boy in the back of the room stood slowly, visibly shaking.

"There he is," Chris said out loud. Since no one could hear her, Chris rarely bothered to only think things. "There's the boy who summoned me," Chris continued. She watched him as he stumbled to the front of the room.

"M-my report is on the Mason-Dixon L-Line. The Mason-Dixon Line was…" Chris ignored Michael's words. They meant nothing to her. The only thing that mattered was that she helped Michaels through the report. Chris strode over to Michael and stood next to him. She placed a hand on his forehead and concentrated.

"It's okay Michael. Nice and easy," she whispered to him, transferring strength to him. Immediately Michael stood a little straighter and spoke with more confidence. By the end of his report, Michael was speaking easily and relaxed.

"And that's the history of the Mason-Dixon Line," Michael finished with a grin. His classmates applauded loudly, grinning at him.

"Very good Michael! Well done! Next up we have-" the teacher began but Chris had already left the room. Her business was done.

* * *

_December 18th, 2012. 4:12 pm. Rockets Soccer field, Batavia Illinois._

Chris lounged atop the snack booth, eyes shut. With nothing to do for the rest of the day, Chris had decided to watch a soccer game. Chris often found herself drawn to sport events. The determination to win each team gave off was like heaven to Chris.

_Beeeep_ squealed the buzzer as the clock hit 0. Chris sat up and looked down at the field with mild interest. As far Chris could tell, the game had ended in a tie: 2-2. As she watched, a player from each team headed over to the goal for the tie breaking kick. The smaller of the two entered the goal to be goalie while the other took his spot outside the goal box. Chris stood quickly and floated over to the goal. She landed nimbly on the net where she stood, waiting for the kick to take place. While her instincts were to give one of them the determination to be successful, Chris forced herself to not take sides. It wouldn't be fair to give an advantage to one team.

"Both players, get ready," the referee called out. As the two boys nodded, a cold feeling slammed into Chris like a blast of wind. It was as if everyone's spirits had just taken a nose dive. The air around Chris suddenly felt heavy and full of doubt. Chris turned and looked around in confusion for the source of unnaturally evil presence. Chris' eyes were drawn to a nondescript man standing near the edge of the field. Clad in a business suit and a disapproving scowl, the man was practically the cover model for _Disapproving CEO Dad Weekly. _Chris stared at him, and to her shock, he turned his head and looked at her. Right at Chris, the man stared. 'Is he… a Sprit?' Chris thought. As if by fate, a random woman came walking by the man. The woman walked right through him. Chris gasped. The man, having seen Chris gasp, smirked and Chris felt her body freeze and her stomach twist painfully. She felt like was going to throw up. Her mind clouded over and her body shook violently. 'Breathe,' Chris ordered herself. With an enormous effort, Chris managed to regain her control. She had been so overcome by the horrible feeling she hadn't even noticed she'd fallen off the goal and was kneeling on all fours, gasping. Chris dragged herself up, managing to stand. She stared in horror at the man.

"Who the hell is that?" Chris said out loud without thinking. Then, slowly, the man's mouth twisted even more, but there was no humor in that smile. He raised his hand, causing Chris to wince involuntarily. But the feeling didn't come back. Bemused, Chris turned in time to see what the man had done. The smaller boy, the goalie, was shaking even more violently than Chris had been moments before. His eyes were wide as the other boy ran up to the ball. Chris whirled around to face the man. He was no longer looking at Chris. His attention was devoted on sucking the willpower out of the goalie.

"Stop it!" Chris squeaked, surprised at how weak her voice sounded. The man continued to ignore Chris and the kicker was now running at the ball, preparing to kick it at the petrified goalie. "Stop!" Chris yelled again, growing more desperate. The kicker's foot connected with the ball, and the world seemed to slow. The man's eyes began to glow the color of steel, all traces of a smile gone. "I said stop!" Chris screamed, firing a ball of fire at the man. The sphere of flame shot straight into the man's chest.

The man stumbled backwards and his spell was broken. The goalie shook his head and managed to gather himself and dive for the ball that was now flying at him. The goalie caught it just in time. The goalies teammates cheered loudly, but Chris was deft to their cries. She was stalking over to where the man was now standing, glaring furiously at Chris.

"Who the hell are you?!" Chris demanded when she reached him. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Show some respect, little girl. I have half a mind to send you to your knees, screaming, for ruining my fun!" the man snarled.

"Who. Are. You?!" Chris repeated harshly.

"That is no one of your business. Now apologize for ruining entertainment _at once!"_

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry for stopping you from torturing that poor little boy!" Chris snapped.

"Torture? That wasn't torture, brat. I'll show you torture," the man growled. Fast as a snake, the man reached out and pressed his hand to Chris' forehead, like how she had done to young Michael hours before. But instead of being filled with strength as Michael had, Chris felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. The air was knocked out of her and Chris' head was filled with memories. Memories of screaming people as they burned, memories of people dying.

Chris gasped desperately for air and tried to jerk away from the man and the pain, but the man used his other arm to grab Chris' shoulder and hold her in place. Chris tried to summon fire to her hands so she could fight back, but whatever power the man had over Chris stole the fire abilities. The pain intensified and Chris couldn't fight the agonized scream that tore from her mouth. The agony and memories strengthened with every passing second, as did Chris' screams. She had never known such pain. Finally, the man pulled his hand back and smiled maliciously. Chris stood there, struggling for breath and barley standing.

"My name is Amau, Spirit of Doubt and Regret, you bitch," the man said softly. "And you will never speak against me again, unless you want to feel much worse than that." With those final words, Amau slammed his fist into Chris' jaw, sending the weak girl flying to the ground, blackness overtaking her.

* * *

**Well that's that. Done and done. Sorry it took so long. Things to do, people to see. Once again, please comment/favorite. Whatever you'd like. See you soon!**

**~wolfe13**


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